Ring of Fire
by krackensan
Summary: Mustang suddenly won't let Edward search for the philosopher's stone. When a rival proposes a way to remove Mustang from command, Edward finds that he can't refuse to help. Yaoi. RoyxEd
1. Dogs

Kracken

Disclaimer"I don't own them and I don't make any money off of this.  
Warning:Male/male sex, graphic, language, violence, angst, attempted NCS.

Full Metal Alchemist

Roy x Ed

Ring of Fire

Dogs

He was a dog on a leash and Roy Mustang had a firm grip on it. Edward Elric clenched his hands into fists, his back stiff and his shoulders hunched, as he stalked from Mustang's office. The sunlight was too bright, the trees too green, and the birds too cheerful. Everything should have been as dark and as cold as he felt.

"Brother?" Al had been waiting patiently on the marble steps outside of headquarters. He rose, his large, metal frame towering over his smaller brother "He's made you angry again."

Edward kept walking and Al followed a step behind. People looked at them curiously as they passed, all of them aware of who they were and the whispered rumors that shadowed them. Edward hunched into his collar, pretending not to see them. "Mustang denied my request to go to Creta," Edward explained angrily,."He said that it's too dangerous and that I'm too valuable. I reminded him that he had agreed that I would be allowed to pursue the Philosopher's stone when I wasn't under orders, and that he was breaking that promise."

"That's true," Al agreed anxiously. "What did he say?"

"He gave me orders," Edward snarled back, blonde braid snapping in an arc as he turned to Al abruptly. "I'm to investigate several murders." His gold eyes were full of fire as he shouted, "I can't let him do this to us! If we have to leave against orders, we will."

"Brother," Al warned in a worried tone. "He's a powerful man."

"So am I!" Edward retorted, drawing himself up to his full height. He jabbed a thumb at his chest and said, "He doesn't own me!"

It sounded confident, and Edward hoped that Al was fooled. Inside, he was far from sure what to do about Mustang's sudden concern for his safety, and his new resolve to keep Edward from investigating leads to the philosopher's stone. The military was everywhere and Edward had seen it demonstrate, on more than one occasion, it's ability to find a man anywhere and destroy him. A young, blonde haired man, and a very tall suit of armor, had very little chance of traveling unremarked or escaping the long arm of their military might.

There had to be a way of slipping Mustang's leash, though, some way to pursue the rumors in Creta of miraculous resurrections and healing, something only the philosopher's stone was capable of. Roy Mustang was an important man with ambition, but there were other men who were his superiors. If Edward could convince one of them that his trip was necessary, they might countermand Mustang's orders.

"I need to know what is going on in Creta," Edward told Al as they turned towards the communal dinning hall. "There must be a good reason for a State Alchemist to visit there." Investigating resurrections and healings were both very good reasons, but Mustang had chosen to ignore them. Perhaps someone else wouldn't. What better weapon could there be for an army than the ability to raise the dead and heal without equivalent trade?

"I've heard that there is trouble in Creta," Al told him as Edward as they entered the dinning hall. "Mustang may be right, brother. We can look elsewhere and go there when it's safer."

Edward glared hotly at his brother. He was served food by an attendant and then he took his tray to a table and sat down. Al had trouble sitting, but he managed it, the weight of his large frame straining the wood of the bench seat.

"If we wait," Edward pointed out as he stabbed a fork into his food, "The philosopher's stone might be claimed by someone else." He narrowed his eyes as a thought came to him. "It's possible that Mustang will do that very thing and that he wants us out of his way." He dropped his fork with a clatter as the suspicion bloomed.

"If that's so, brother, "Al asked tentatively, "then why hasn't he kept us from searching for it before now?"

Edward scowled. "They were all false leads. Mustang might believe that this rumor is true."

Al sounded distressed as he wondered, "If he finds it, do you think that he will use it to help us?"

"He's not Fuhrer... yet," Edward reminded him. "I don't think his superiors would let him keep it for his own use and I can't believe that he would use it to help us even if he could."

"You are angry at him, brother," Al sighed, "but I don't think that he is a bad man."

"He has ambition, Al, " Edward grumbled as he picked up his fork again. "That has made many good men bad."

Al was silent, disagreeing probably, Edward thought, but then he always did have more trust in the goodness of people than was wise. Believing that Roy Mustang was a good man, though, was going too far. Edward thoroughly believed that Mustang would use them both, in whatever way was necessary, to further his ambition to be Fuhrer. That was why it was very easy to believe that he was after the philosopher's stone for himself. Having a power such as that one would make him invincible.

"The great Full Metal Alchemist is troubled?" a smooth voice asked.

Edward looked up, startled, and saw a man settle on the bench across from him. He was tall and slim, dark hair greased down and back so that not a hair was out of place. His face was high boned and aristocratic and his uniform was high ranking, not as high as Mustang, but close enough to make Edward instantly wary. Politics in the military was best avoided and Edward had kept to himself, avoiding anyone trying to draw him into a faction. They tended to step in whenever they saw a rift and he supposed his loud fight with Mustang counted as one.

Edward tried to remain respectful, but didn't do very well. He hunched over his food tray and stared down at it, keeping his hot, gold eyes lowered."No."

"Good," the man said . "You're wary, not the child I expected."

Edward bristled. "I am not a child!"

"Yet Mustang calls you one and treats you accordingly," the man pointed out. "That must wound your pride."

"It doesn't matter to me what he thinks," Edward shot back.

"No, but his actions and orders do matter, am I correct?" The man leaned forward steepling long fingers together on the table top.

"Who?"

"First Lt. Andrews," the man told him. "Lt. Colonel Thompson is my superior."

Who was Mustang's bitter rival, Edward recalled, or at least one of them. The man had made many enemies in his climb to the position he held now.

"Lt. Colonel Thompson is interested in speaking with you, Edward Elric," Andrews told him. There was an eager glitter in his dark eyes as he looked about them. It was early yet and many of the benches were empty, giving them some privacy. Andrews still leaned in closer as he whispered, "If you want to pursue your quest for the stone, and get rid of a superior who stands in your way, there are men standing ready to help you. You would be surprised how many men share your distaste for Lt. Colonel Mustang."

Edward replied in a clipped tone, "No, I'm not surprised at all."

"Brother?" Al whispered, worried.

Maybe it was time to listen? Mustang had gone too far this time, Edward thought, had pulled his leash too tight and expected him to heel. It wouldn't do any harm to hear what Lt. Colonel Thompson had to say.

"I won't kill," Edward ground out as he shoved his tray of food aside.

The man smiled and it was like oil on water, slick and slippery. "No, nothing so drastic. Come with me and allow the Lt. Colonel to speak with you. He will tell you everything."

Edward clenched his hands. "You aren't afraid that I'll go to Mustang and tell him about this?"

The man cocked his head slightly and he arched an eyebrow as he stood up. "No," he replied. "I'm not."

Edward left his meal and Al behind and followed Andrews. He felt naked without Al's comforting shadow, but he couldn't help being protective towards his little brother. He sensed trouble and he wasn't going to bring Al, when it wasn't necessary.

Edward wasn't surprised when Andrews led him far into an old section of the complex. What they were doing needed shadows and secrecy, he was sure, and frowned darkly. He was half certain that this Thompson was going to ask him to kill Mustang, despite what the First Lt. had said. Edward was ready to turn him down, of course, he wasn't a murderer whatever he felt about Mustang, but there was a chance that this man might want something else, that he might have some other solution for getting Mustang out of his way, and for that, he followed.

The office was posh, full of thick, oriental carpets and glossy wood furniture. A man behind a large desk looked old and bitter. His white hair was grizzled and his face was creased from long days spent in the field. He motioned to a chair and Edward cautiously sat down.

"Full Metal," the man greeted him and looked him over. His face wrinkled as he smiled, but Edward found it an unpleasant expression, chilling rather than reassuring.

"Lt. Colonel Thompson?" Edward guessed.

The man nodded. "I've been watching you," he said as he sat back in his chair and lit up a cigar. He puffed and clouds of reeking smoke filled the room. Edward tried not to cough, but he found himself putting a hand to his face as the smoke drifted over to him."You chafe at Mustang's orders"  
A statement, not a question.

"He made a promise," Edward replied, "He broke it." It was a naive thing to say, but it was at the root of Edward's anger and resentment.

"He promised to allow you to search for the philosopher's stone," Thompson clarified and Edward nodded stiffly. "I know that you are not surprised that such a promise was broken."

"No," Edward replied. "The military doesn't have a good reputation for such things."

Thompson looked amused. "You are more than I expected, Edward Elric." Thompson took a long puff on his cigar, sucked in deeply, and then let out the smoke in a steady stream, his lips making an o shape.

Edward was growing impatient. The man was feeling him out, obviously. Edward decided not to reply, keeping his mood and his thoughts to himself. Let Thompson make his offer, Edward thought, and then he would see.

Thompson motioned at Edward with his cigar. "The search for the Philosopher's stone is very important to you, so important, that I think that you are willing to attempt to leave the military against orders. I have to warn you against that course of action. The penalty is death, as I'm sure you know."

Edward crossed his arms over his chest, feeling the hardness of his automail arm press against his flesh. "I'll do what I have to. I don't have a choice."

The man put his cigar aside in an ashtray and then steepled his fingers. Looking down at them, he said, "Mustang has been a roadblock to my advancement. I'm old. I don't have many years to pursue my bid to be Fuhrer. I need little upstarts like Mustang to fall and fall quickly. If I have to use less than... palatable... means, I will."

"Mustang lied to me," Edward said, "Why should I believe any promises you make to me?"

"You shouldn't!" the man laughed. He grabbed his cigar again and clamped it between his teeth. He growled around it, "A man who trusts is a short lived man, I always say."

Edward scowled. He had expected dissembling, an attempt to reassure him, not a confirmation of what he already knew. It kept him from standing and leaving. Instead, he leaned forward and asked fiercely, "What do you want? No games."

"But it is a game," Thompson chuckled. "Chess. I'm the knight trying to capture the king and I have to make my moves carefully. I have to get rid of the pieces that stand in my way. Sometimes, the best piece to accomplish this is a pawn."

Thompson stood and Edward shrank back in his chair nervously. Thompson was a big man and he looked imposing in his uniform. At that moment, Edward almost wished that he had brought Al along. A person did not bring a little brother into dirty dealings, though, and he doubted that this man was planning anything that could stand up in the light of day.

"It's known to some of my... operatives," Thompson explained, "That Roy Mustang has some eccentric tastes."

Thompson stopped behind Edward's chair and Edward twisted uncomfortably to look at him. "What does that mean?"

"He likes young men," Thompson replied and his smile was cold.

Edward scowled and stood up. He faced Thompson. "I don't understand."

"So inexperienced." Thompson tisked and then clarified, "Roy Mustang enjoys young men in his bed, Edward Elric."

Edward felt his face flame and his hands went into fists. "That's against military codes of conduct. I don't believe you!"

"Why should I lie about that?" Thompson looked Edward from head to toe, slow and appraising. "He keeps it well hidden, but I've had men watching his every move, looking for a flaw that I could exploit to bring him down. Now that I have it, though, I find myself in a difficult situation. One report of such misconduct, proven without a doubt, will destroy his career. Unfortunately, Mustang is particular. He's not fallen for any of the young men I've sent to seduce him." Thompson closed the space between them and looked down his long height at Edward. "That is why I've called you here. I believe that Mustang has an interest in you, personally."

"M-Me?" Edward spluttered in shock and anger.

Thompson reached out and took hold of Edward's short braid. He rubbed it between his fingers as he said, "You are very handsome, did you realize? It would explain why he tries to shield you, why he risks his position to keep you safe, why he now refuses to allow you to go where it is dangerous."

Edward gritted his teeth, gold eyes blazing until he couldn't keep silent any longer. He burst out, as he jerked away and stepped back a pace, "You are mad! Non of that is true! Why did you bring me here? Why did you want to say these things to me?"

Thompson grunted, walked back to his chair, and sat down heavily. He puffed on his cigar and then said, "If it isn't true, then you don't have anything to fear. If it is...all that is necessary is for you to allow Mustang to proposition you. That will ruin him... and remove him from your life."

"Proposition me?" Edward spluttered.

"Yes," Thompson looked irritated now. "You've seen women do it, surely? They simply make themselves available and look beautiful. Men then ask them for their favors. Full Metal, I am not asking you to bed the Colonel, only to allow him to discredit himself by propositioning you."

Edward felt furious. He had wasted his time. This man wasn't offering him hope, he was offering him... something that he didn't want to contemplate. He said scathingly, "So, I will discredit Mustang and you will take his position. How will you treat Al and I after that happens? Will you protect us? Will you allow us to search for the philosopher's stone unhindered?"

"Yes, to both questions," Thompson replied. "You and your brother are an asset that I appreciate. If you gain the philosopher's stone, it is mine by right... after you have used it for your purposes, of course."

"Of course," Edward sneered and then turned away, shoulders hunched as he tried to think. He was making the same deal that he had made with Mustang. He had to trust that this man would keep his promise after Mustang was gone. Edward had as little hope in that as before, but... there wasn't any choice. He needed to search for the philosopher's stone. He closed his eyes tightly, feeling shame creep up his collar and sizzle across his skin like fire, as he asked, "What do I have to do?"

TBC

see Kracken's original, published yaoi fiction, The Angel Within, at under Kracken Website:http:kracken. Latest updates at: http:groups. for general fanfiction talk: http:groups. 


	2. Customs

Kracken

Disclaimer:I don't own them and I don't make any money off of this.  
Warning; Male/male sex, graphic, language, violence

This chapter has been edited for content.

Full Metal Alchemist

Ring of Fire

Customs

"Are you handsome?" Riza Hawkeye looked at Edward in a startled fashion, at stiff attention, and unsure of her reply. To her, Edward Elric was a child, someone she was sworn to protect and someone she would have protected, with or without orders. He was also someone, she thought, that shouldn't be in the military, but rather at home, having cookies and milk and being tucked in at night by a doting mother. She knew his skill, knew his determination, and knew his quest, but that didn't keep her heart from hurting for him.

Standing in front of her desk, cheeks flushed in embarrassment, Edward had his gloved hands balled into fists and his attention on his feet. Yes, Riza thought, he was very handsome. Gold hair, gold eyes, and the beauty of blooming manhood. It said something about his modesty that he had to ask, and something more about insecurity. Blurting the question, when he had been there to hand her a report, had seemed to take him by surprise as much as it had Riza.

"You are a handsome boy, yes," she replied in a very formal voice.

His expression did something. Riza wasn't sure what it was. Disappointment? Relief? A mixture of both? It confused her and confirmed her opinion that the question hadn't been asked in idleness.

"Is... he in?" Edward asked in a small voice.

Riza blinked, confused and then understood, "No, Lt. Colonel Mustang is in a meeting. He will be returning in one hour. Shall I take a message?"

She wasn't his secretary, but she would stand in for one if it allowed her to have some insight into what Edward was thinking. She watched Edward blush dark red and then turn and walk quickly away as he replied simply, "No."

Riza sighed, sensing the lost opportunity, and decided that she wouldn't tell the Colonel about the odd visit. Let Edward decide, she thought, and return when he was ready.

Edward scowled at nothing as he walked back to the barracks. Riza thought he was handsome. She didn't strike Edward as being one of those flighty, romantic minded women. She was definitely no nonsense. He trusted her to tell him the truth. With that doubt eliminated, though, there was little else to use as an excuse not to go through with the deception.

It bothered him, and Edward was loathe to admit it. A sense of honor still clung desperately, even though its fingernails were on the edge of oblivion, and it was telling Edward that what he was doing was wrong, that stooping to such a disgusting level to discredit Mustang was an act that was going to damage his soul. He was used to that, though. He had damaged it already in some of the choices that he had been forced to make. For Al's sake, he was willing to turn his soul black, he thought. Roy Mustang was standing in his way. If this was a way to get him out of it without killing him, then it was worth some humiliation on his part.

Edward found Al sitting under a tree. He joined him, stood quietly, and didn't have to wonder what had drawn Al to the spot. It was an oasis in the stark compound of headquarters, a spreading tree, a soft patch of green grass, and the sound of wind. Al couldn't feel the warmth of the sun. He couldn't feel the wind. The grass could have been spikes of metal. His little brother was reduced to watching and listening to his moment of peace.

Edward felt guilty for feeling the breeze sift through his hair and the sun warm his skin. He shared the fate of his brother in a small way, through the metal of his arm and lower leg, but being truly shut off, like Al, was something that he didn't like to imagine. When he let himself stop to think about it, he could hate himself for having consigned Al to that suit of armor. It had been that or death, but the choice seemed less right some days than others.

"You are planning something, brother," Al finally said and he sounded hurt.

"How do you know that?" Edward asked, ashamed.

"You have stopped talking to me. You go places alone." Al looked at him. Sitting, he was still almost at a level with Edward. His eyes, though they were only blank slits in the armor, could still cut Edward to his heart.

"It is a serious matter," Edward told him carefully. "It's something that I have to do alone. You're too young."

Al was angry then. "You are not that much older than me, brother! We have been through a great deal. Don't stop trusting me."

Edward reached out and gripped Al's armored shoulder tightly. It was a gesture for him alone. Al couldn't feel it, couldn't be reassured by human touch."I do trust you!" he replied.

"Then tell me what you are doing," Al insisted. "Even if you think that I shouldn't be a part of it, at least talk to me about it."

Al was all heart, Edward knew. If he told his brother what he planned, Al would protest and he would be shocked. Edward wasn't even certain that Al understood that two men could be together that way. He wasn't going to be the one to educate his brother, especially when he was so ill informed himself.

Some truth, but not all of it, Edward decided. He owed his brother that much. He thought for a moment and then said, "I am trying to find a way to go to Creta, despite Colonel Mustang's orders, and without breaking with the military. I have been talking with some of Mustang's rivals."

Al was alarmed at once. His armor creaked as he started and turned to Edward. "Brother, you don't mean to kill him?"

"No," Edward replied quickly, looking around them nervously. They were, thankfully, far from where anyone could over hear. "His rivals may be able to help us without that."

"How?" Al wanted to know.

"Al..." Edward sighed and rubbed at his face wearily. "I promise you, Mustang will be safe whatever I do, but I can't explain everything.

Al wasn't happy about that, but Edward was firm, and Al finally accepted that he was going to remain ignorant.

They walked back to the barracks together, but Edward's mind wasn't on the warm day, or his brother's disappointment, but on his next meeting with Mustang.

It took days to find his courage and for Mustang's enemies to grow impatient. Edward couldn't bring himself to ask anyone for advice, not even them, and his knowledge of seduction was next to nothing. When he imagined himself confronting Mustang and attempting to 'flirt' with the man, he went cold and frightened. His mind couldn't get past his belief that Mustang would not only not respond, but would be so offended that bringing Edward up on charges would be the least of it. It was a large gamble and Edward seesawed between accepting that gamble and rejecting it. When confronted by his brother, though, knowing that the only way that he could pursue the cure for him was to have Mustang out of the way, the decision became easier.

"Sir," Edward said stiffly as he finally stood in front of Mustang's desk in the man's office. Clothing neatly pressed, face clean, and hair combed and braided tightly, Edward still didn't think he was a temptation for anyone, especially a Lt. Colonel who could have anyone he wished. Edward felt young, awkward, and very much a young man. He imagined that someone who was interested in boys would want someone pretty and girlish.

Mustang's eyes measured him and he looked amused at Edward's obvious awkwardness. "Was there something that you wished to speak to me about? If it's about my decision to deny you access to Creta, I assure you that I haven't changed my mind. Rebel forces have made that area extremely dangerous. You are too important to risk."

Edward couldn't help his angry reaction. His fists clenched and he stood ramrod straight. "Sir, Al and I have been in dangerous situations before. I think we've proven that we can defend ourselves."

"You've proven your abilities, yes," Mustang replied with a sigh, "but you can be the most experienced and talented alchemist in the world and still die at the hands of rebels, Edward Elric. Once we have secured the area-"

"How long?" Edward demanded. "Weeks, months, years?"

Mustang shrugged. "They are entrenched and they do have weaponry. Telling you when we might prevail, would be a lie. I don't know, pure and simple."

Edward reined himself in sharply. He wasn't there to rehash their argument. He was there to make Mustang incriminate himself, but how to start? Should he be obvious, come right out and tell Mustang he was... interested? That didn't sound like the right thing to do. Mustang wasn't stupid. No, somehow, it had to be Mustang's move and, somehow, Edward had to signal that he was open to that move.

Edward's gut clenched. "I suppose that I don't understand," Edward said softly as he undid the top buttons of his dress shirt and acted as if he had become suddenly warm, "Why do you want to protect us? Why won't you send us into the field like your other soldiers?"

Mustang's eyes were on the line of Edward's throat that he had just revealed, but his voice gave nothing of his interest or mood as he replied, "Before I can send in my best men, I have to take out Creta's main forces. It would be useless to try and defeat the entire rebel force at one time. Small maneuvers, well planned out attacks, and a seamless siege of the area, will soften them up sufficiently for a strike that will defeat them."

Edward opened his coat and put his hands in his pockets so that his upper chest was exposed by the open buttons. Mustang's eyes continued to stare as Edward said, "So, Al and I will be allowed to go in when that happens?"

"No," Mustang replied.

Edward throttled his temper, but he couldn't stop his jaw from clenching. "Why not?" he asked.

"I have other men more suited to that type of battle," Mustang replied.

"You know how much this means to us," Edward seethed. "Why deny us the chance to go there as part of the attack force?"

Mustang stood suddenly and came from around his desk. He came very close to Edward and continued to stare down at his exposed throat and chest. Edward couldn't help a small shiver, not sure if this was the moment when Mustang would-

"I can't count on you," Mustang told him.

Edward felt a chill and his nipples hardened in response. He knew that Mustang could see it and a blush traveled up Edward's collar bone and covered his face. He very clearly saw Mustang swallow hard and then the man was turning away.

"I have important matters to attend to, Edward Elric," Mustang told him. "If there is nothing else, you are dismissed."

Edward moved forward and leaned over Mustang's desk as the man sat down. His shirt and coat hung open, low enough for Mustang to see all the way to his navel. Edward said in the most suggestive voice he could manage, "Are you sure that there isn't some way that I could convince you? Is there something that I can do for you in exchange?"

Mustang frowned sharply and met Edward's eyes. Suddenly, Mustang's hands were closing on the lapels of Edward's coat and pulling Edward down close to him. "Child," he hissed. "Go away and rethink what you are offering me. Ask yourself if it is worth that to you."

"I don't have to go away and think," Edward retorted fiercely. "It is worth that to me."

"How far will you go?" Mustang wondered angrily. "Will you get on your hands and knees and pleasure me right now, right here?" Edward couldn't help his shocked expression. "Maybe I want more than that?" Mustang continued. "Maybe I would want you bent over my desk so that I can do to you as I please? Will you go that far? What if I invite other people in, people who might want to take advantage of your offer as well? What if we lined up and used you to our heart's content for payment? Will you offer that to me for what you want Edward Elric?"

Mustang shoved him away.

"Your face betrays you," Mustang sneered.

Edward felt his body go from hot to cold and then back again. He shook and mouthed words that wouldn't come.

"If you want to play at being an adult," Mustang told him acidly, "Then be prepared to have your bluffs taken seriously. You are lucky that I am an honorable man and that your welfare really is my concern. You are dismissed."

Edward stumbled backwards. Mustang started going through paperwork as if he had ceased to exist. When Mustang's secretary opened the door, bringing tea for Mustang, Edward fled through it and out of the building all together. Dazed from his humiliation, he turned a corner and ran straight into First Lt. Andrews and two of his men.

"Where were you?" Edward hissed angrily, golden eyes snapping fire."You were supposed to be listening!"

Andrews took a small device from his ear and took a recorder out of his pocket. "We were listening, Full Metal."

"Then why didn't you have him arrested?" Edward demanded. "He told me to-to," he spluttered and couldn't say the words.

"He didn't," Andrews corrected him irritably. "He simply confronted your offer and tried to clarify exactly what that offered entailed. You were implicating yourself, Edward Elric, not Roy Mustang. If you had agreed to anything that he told you, he could have had you arrested. You are not as clever as I was led to believe."

Edward shook a fist at him. "I'm not a pervert! I don't know how to act like one!"

"Pervert?" Andrews looked annoyed. "How can you hope to seduce Mustang when you are so obviously disgusted?"

"What he said disgusted me!" Edward snarled back.

Andrews snorted. "His crude language disgusted you?"

"Yes!" Edward retorted. "How could he say those things?"

"Because you were offering that to him," Andrews shot back. He sighed as he pulled the device out of his ear and tucked it into the pocket with the recorder. "I can see that we need to discuss our tactics further. Your naivete might endear Mustang to you, but it doesn't help when we need you to lure him into your bed."

"He is not getting in my bed!" Edward protested.

"Make the offer to get in your bed," Andrews corrected himself shortly.

Edward was panting with emotion. Andrews exchanged looks with the two men with him and then said, "Let me report to my commander. Take time to calm down, Elric, and I will contact you later."

They left him alone then and Edward was left to play through his mind again the way that Mustang had confronted him. Walking back to the barracks, he cringed and hugged his arms about himself. How far would he go? That far? He trembled. Deep down, Edward realized that it hadn't been so much Mustang's crude words that had upset him, but the fact that Mustang had held up a mirror and shown him his own ugliness. Confronted with that image, and Mustang's disappointment and sure knowledge of Edward, he knew that no, he couldn't go that far. Mustang had made it clear that he wasn't going to allow it anyway. If Edward was going to make another attempt, he would have to make certain that it was seduction and not a bribe.

Mustang had to want him, and it had to be his idea, Edward knew. He had to make an assault on that office again, on Roy Mustang, but he couldn't go in that naive again. He needed to steel himself and ask for advice and, he had a feeling, Mustang's enemies would be more than willing to give him some.

see Kracken's original, published yaoi fiction, The Angel Within, at under Kracken Website:http:kracken. Latest updates at: http:groups. for general fanfiction talk: http:groups. 


	3. Leanings

Kracken

Disclaimer:I don't own them and I don't make any money off of this.  
Warning; Male/male sex, graphic, language, violence

Full Metal Alchemist

Leanings

"You need to be available," Lt. Colonel Thompson said as he walked around Edward, looking him up and down. "You need to look at him with some maturity, some knowledge of what you want. It's obvious that he thinks of you as a child. You must convince him that you aren't."

Edward seethed, his metal hand slamming on the man's desk, making everything on it jump and tremble. "I am not a child!"

The man snorted and came to a stop in front of him. "Prove yourself. Look at me as if you want me. Look at me as if you are aware of what we might do together."

Edward remained stiff and angry, his cheeks going hot.

The colonel sighed. "I will have to find someone else... but I doubt their success even more. Mustang has particular tastes. You interested him."

"He won't believe me if I do as you say!" Edward snarled, gold eyes snapping."There has to be another way."

The colonel rubbed the back of his neck, thinking. "You don't spend time together. There isn't an occasion where you would find yourself naked in his presence..." He trailed off thoughtfully. "Put the 'how' aside for now. Let us concentrate on what you would do if that opportunity presented itself. Imagine it, you, naked, and standing in front of Mustang, also naked. A shower, perhaps? The barracks shower? How would you seduce him and make it believable?"

"I..." Edward imagined it with crystal clarity, but could only think of shame and getting out as quickly as possible.

Another sigh. The man scowled and approached him. "Here and here." He took Edward's hands and smoothed them along his belly. "Slow and firm... and here... like this..." He took Edward's flesh and blood hand and curved it as if it were holding soap. Then he took that hand and ran it along Edward's ass.

Edward jumped and twitched out of the man's grasp. "Stop! I can't do this!"

The colonel was livid now. "What are you afraid of? Is embarrassment so terrible to you? Is saving face worth more than what you seek? We will be close, listening, and he won't get what he wants, I assure you. You don't have anything to fear."

"It won't happen!" Edward retorted, retreating a few steps. "He doesn't shower with his men." He shook his head sharply and stalked to the door, needing to leave.

"Wait." The colonel passed him and opened the door to his office. "Kirk?"

A slim young man in uniform came in. He smiled at Edward and looked him up and down very slowly as he went to stand at attention before the colonel. He had very dark hair, falling in a wave over green eyes. He was handsome and self assured.

"Kirk?" The colonel took up a stance as if he were standing in a shower room. "We're in a shower room. Show this boy how to seduce me."

"That's against regulations sir," the man smirked as if he were joking.

"Demonstration purposes only," The colonel said with a smile. "To show him what's against the rules."

"Ah," the man said and winked at Edward as he took up a stance beside the colonel.

Kirk acted as if he were picking up soap and then he hummed gently under his breath and acted as if he were sensuously soaping his upper body. The colonel was looking oblivious. Kirk's hands roved lower and lower until he was pretending to soap his ass and between his legs. His humming had taken on an almost moaning aspect. He tilted back his chin as if he were letting hot water spray over him and then he bent down, facing away from the colonel, as he pretended to soap his legs and feet.

Edward was out of the door and hurrying away without thought. He wasn't sure if they called after him. He didn't care. He just knew that he couldn't stay and witness that any longer. He couldn't act like that. Mustang had said it clearly, his face would betray him.

Needing to blow off steam, Edward went to the range, a place where he could practice his alchemy safe from interference. After a few rounds of reducing rocks to rubble and then back to their original form, he calmed and became more serious. He began changing things more subtly, tweaking unusual forms out of blocks of masonry. The power flowed through him cleanly and it felt almost euphoric, until thoughts of Kirk, soaping his body, and the feeling of being made a fool, swept that feeling aside and replaced it with burning anger and distraction.

The block Edward had been changing, suddenly toppled from his control and exploded. Edward flinched and raised his arms to protect his head, but chunks of the block were already slamming into him. He felt a blow to the head, his chest, and his arm, before he fell sprawling, dazed and disoriented.

Hands were on him. Mustang's voice demanded worriedly, "Are you all right?"

"Yes," Edward mumbled as the man helped him to sit up, bracing him with his body, but Edward's head was spinning and he couldn't see him clearly.

Soft hands touched his forehead, ghosted over a throbbing pain in his arm, and then began unbuttoning his uniform. "Superficial wounds," Mustang finally said, "What were you attempting to do?"

Edward was helped to his feet. He limped, with Mustang's help, to a stone bench in the shade of a tree. Mustang sat with him, still holding him and keeping him steady. Edward tried to think as he replied, "I don't remember."

"You were distracted," Mustang reprimanded."I was watching you."

Edward nodded and his head throbbed. "Stupid," he agreed.

"Sit still," Mustang ordered. "When your head clears, I'll take you to the infirmary."

Edward stopped himself from nodding again. It hurt too much.

"What distracted you?" Mustang asked, idle curiosity as he waited for Edward to regain his senses.

Edward found himself replying hazily, "About you... about... us. About not being able to get you to- to want me."

Mustang made a startled sound. Edward's mind finally caught up to his mouth. He swivelled and looked at Mustang in pure shock. The world went dark at the edges.

Mustang frowned, looked around them briefly to see whether they were being watched, decided that they were safe, and then sighed, "I don't understand what you're trying to do. You're a-"

"I'm not a child," Edward retorted, cutting him off angrily. His head spun and he found himself leaning his head against Mustang's collar bone. Mustang's hand came up and gently held him there.

"Who put you up to this?" Mustang asked and Edward's blood went ice cold. Mustang didn't wait for an answer. "Don't you see?" he asked bitterly, "That proves that you are still too young, too naive. You didn't even see what madness they were asking you to do."

Deny it? Edward was suddenly too weary to lie. "I did, I... I just wanted to believe...but... they're crazy..."

Mustang's hand caressed his gold hair and Edward felt something brush his forehead, warm and soft... Mustang's lips he suddenly realized and felt that Mustang was treating him like a child again, a wounded child needing comfort..

"I need to go to Creta," Edward said angrily. "Whether you say I can or not... Whatever the consequences. I may be foolish, but I stopped being a child a long time ago. Please... stop protecting me. Let... Let me go."

Mustang sighed, held him tightly for a moment, and then said softly, "You will kill yourself, either way, it seems. Go... Take your brother and go to Creta. If you die, though, the Fuhrer will make sure that I follow close behind you."

Edward looked up, startled. His head throbbed and he wasn't thinking at all clearly, but he could see Mustang looking regretful and almost sad. "Thank you, sir," Edward replied, a bare whisper, and then Mustang was helping him to his feet.

"Not the infirmary," Edward balked with a look of distaste. He hated the antiseptic smell and the doctor there was military issue, tough as nails and unsympathetic to the wounded.

"You need someone to watch you, at least until you feel more clear headed," Mustang replied. "Let's go to your quarters. Your brother..." He frowned, thinking of the metal clad boy trying to take care of a wounded alchemist. "I can send him for one of my aides. Riza, I think."

Edward wasn't in any shape to argue. He wanted his bunk and he wanted to rest his aching head on a pillow. Mustang draped one of Edward's arms across his shoulders and they began to slowly limp to the barracks.

"Brother!" Mustang avoided Al's frantic movements as he edged past him to put Edward on his bed.

"He's all right," Mustang soothed. "It was a small accident, but I think someone should watch your brother until his head clears. Please go and bring Riza here."

"Brother?" Al's armored body made metal on metal sounds as he bent over the young man.

Edward managed a reassuring smile. "It's all right, Al. Do as he says."

Al remained anxious and uncertain.

"Go, get Riza," Edward urged more firmly.

"Yes, brother. I will hurry," Al assured him.

Mustang flinched back as an armored arm came close to his face as Al turned abruptly and went out of the door. Mustang closed the door behind him and then turned to Edward in concern.

"How are you feeling?"

Edward winced and stretched out on his bed. "The room... it looks like there is two of everything and I feel ill."

Mustang hesitated and then he moved to work off Edward's boots and socks. The metal leg was still startling when it was revealed, the finely made foot making small gyro noises as Edward shifted it. The flesh and blood foot was dusted in golden hairs and was slim and surprisingly small. Mustang covered them both with a blanket.

Edward made a noise, a knowing snort. "Some people don't like to see automail."

Mustang raised an eyebrow. "I thought your foot might be cold."

Edward blushed. "Still..."

"It doesn't bother me," Mustang assured him. "I consider it beautiful. The person who made it was a master."

Edward made a face, an expression someone might find on a young boy who was being forced to sit still while a sister was praised, not believing any of it for a moment. He pried off one of his gloves and left the other one on his metal hand. "It works," was all he would concede. "But it isn't something I prefer over my real flesh and blood."

Mustang was a soldier. He replied, "But it is so strong, so useful."

Edward removed his other glove and flexed the metal fingers. He looked over it at Mustang, his golden eyes intent, and then he reached out and touched Mustang's face with care. The metal fingers twitched against his skin. "If I lose control," Edward said, "I could crush your face. These fingers aren't soft. They aren't warm. People don't long to feel them."

Mustang gripped them and then pulled them away. "I don't mind, but your control is not that good just now." There were red finger marks on his face.

Their eyes met and held. Edward felt contrite and then he saw the softness in Mustang's eyes. He voiced his thought before he could think to stop it, "You are attracted to me."

Mustang stiffened and released Edward's metal hand. His brows drew down, but his eyes didn't lose their soft look."What will you do if I say yes?" he asked tightly. "Call my enemies? Denounce me before the Fuhrer?"

Edward felt something open up within him, like the petals of a flower unfolding. His reply was soft, almost non existent, "No."

"No disgust?" Mustang wondered. "No hate? No self righteous condemnation?"

Again, Edward replied, "No."

"Why not?" Mustang wondered.

The sun was coming through a window and shimmering in Mustang's dark hair. An epiphany should always be accompanied by angels, Edward thought, but there was a touch of bitterness attached to that thought. Sudden self knowledge wasn't always a happy event.

"You know why," Edward replied, seeing it in Mustang's eyes, moving behind his calm facade. It was fire and passion and want and it was a mirror showing himself.

"Sometimes," Mustang said, "The person we see the least clearly is ourselves."

Riza and Al had returned. Mustang was standing, suddenly a commanding officer again as he faced Riza and ordered, "Watch over Edward until he is able to care for himself. Alert the medics if his condition worsens."

"Worsens?" Al exclaimed in alarm. "But, you said that it was a small accident!"

Riza gave Mustang a small salute and then pulled a chair next to Edward's bed. She sat down and crossed arms over her chest as if she were on guard duty, her face very serious.

"Just a precaution," Mustang assured AL. "Don't be alarmed for your brother."

Al moved to Edward's bed and Riza eyed him cautiously, ready to duck or dodge his unforgiving armor as he hovered anxiously over his brother.

"I will arrange your travel to Creta," Mustang said as he began to leave, "and I will arrange an escort to accompany you. You will go, but only by following my orders, is that clear?"

Edward blinked at the change of subject, but then thought, no, it had been the subject all along. Everything else had been important, but only a distraction. He nodded, ignoring the ache of his head. No promises. No binding words that he might not be able to keep. Mustang frowned at the lack, but knew how things stood. He would take what he could get.

see Kracken's original, published yaoi fiction, The Angel Within, at under Kracken Website:http/kracken. Latest updates at: http/groups. for general fanfiction talk: http/groups. 


	4. Place

Kracken

Disclaimer:I don't own them and I don't make any money off of them.  
Warning:Male/male sex, graphic, language, violence.

Full Metal Alchemist Ring of Fire

Place

It was not something that he could share with Al, Edward decided, this new revelation about himself. His brother would always be too young to discuss such matters with him. It was much better to let Al think that he was simply attempting to make peace with Mustang, even though Edward couldn't support that image with any demonstration.

They would be going to Creta within several weeks and Mustang, concerned for Edward, had given him reduced duty after the accident. Edward had planned to spend some of that time in Mustang's company, to explore his new knowledge of himself. Mustang, however seemed to be avoiding him, making certain that they never met again, even on the practice ground.

Edward should have been glad, but, instead, he became more and more frustrated. He could blame the man, easily, for showing him a side of himself that he truly didn't want to know about. He needed to stay focused on their search for the Philosopher's stone, on a cure for Al. The last thing that Edward needed was for his body and his heart to interfere with that goal. Perhaps he needed to put it to rest by confronting it? By... satisfying it?

Edward, walking across the grounds of Headquarters, blushed red and hunched into his coat at the thought. He'd seen the other men and women fumbling in dark corners, laughing and making dates, and smiling their smiles afterward. He knew that none of them were celibate. He tried to remember any of the men that might have expressed an interest in him, an interest that he hadn't understood at the time, but understood very well now. He thought there might be several, but trying to form an image of any of them... with him... made his thoughts curl up in a dark place in his mind and whimper. He supposed that he wasn't casual, wasn't free and easy like so many of his comrades when it came to... sex. That embarrassed him more, the thought that he was particular and emotional about such things like a girl. In his limited experience, men were proud about numbering their conquests and were always eager for more. Perhaps that attitude was different when the conquest was another man?

"I can't be thinking this!" Edward growled under his breath and slammed his good hand into his metal one. The pain didn't help to make his thoughts, his desires, any clearer. Mustang, he felt, had it right. By avoiding him, they didn't have to address this problem at all. Unfortunately, that avoidance didn't cause it to go away, and it made it very clear to Edward that Mustang desired him as well and was, perhaps, just as conflicted about it as himself. Their difference in ages, Mustang's position, the ban against such fraternization, made it madness to pursue. Yet that only made it that much more... desirable. That was hardest to admit, that he did, actually, desire Mustang, the man that he thought that he had hated.

Edward wondered if that hatred hadn't sprung from his throttled desires? He had other causes, undeniable instances where Mustang had used and thwarted him, but that was the military. Edward might as well curse a leopard for having spots. No, this tension, this buried desire, might have been the root of his anger at the man all along.

The requisitions officer was standing with a clipboard and going over a mound of new supplies. Edward began to automatically move around him, but then he heard the man say, "All the things on this list are to be kept packed and set aside for Lt. Colonel Mustang. He will be going to Creta very soon with a small troop of men."

"Yes, sir," a soldier replied, saluted smartly, and took the clipboard.

Edward felt a chill go up his spine. Mustang was going with him? Anger stirred side by side with a bastard mix of anticipation and nervousness. He wasn't a child. He didn't need to have Mustang come along and hold his hand, but, in the confines of the small transports, in the small inns and byway rest stops, Mustang couldn't avoid him any longer. The thought of taking that long journey, feeling the tension, the uncertainty, and the frustrated desires he was experiencing now, made up Edward's mind more than anything else. It pushed past his embarrassment, his shame, and, yes, his fear, and caused him stride across the compound to Mustang's office.

This needed to be settled, Edward thought determinedly. They had to come to terms, form some sort of resolution, or agreement, before they ever set foot on a transport. In dangerous territory, and on a mission to save Al's humanity, this couldn't be between them. It didn't occur to Edward to simply try to dissuade the man from coming. He knew better than that. Where stubbornness was concerned, they were both cut from the same cloth.

"Full Metal?"

Edward tensed and slowly turned. First Lt. Colonel Thompson strode up to him and looked down his long height at Edward. He put a hand on Edward's shoulder and it was like a vise as the man steered him by it to a corner of a building where the shadows from a tree hid them.

"We had an agreement," Thompson hissed. "You are not fulfilling it."

Edward pulled away from the man's grip and rubbed at his shoulder, scowling, gold eyes hot and a clear warning. "I've changed my mind," he growled.

Thompson raised an eyebrow. He leaned over Edward, but was surprised when Edward wasn't intimidated. Edward continued to glare as Thompson said, "There isn't a way out now, Full Metal. You are committed. Stand with us or fall with Mustang."

"Then I shall fall," Edward replied with a chill in his voice. "I may be a dog of the military, but I don't heel for people like you."

Thompson narrowed eyes and then he said as he took hold of Edward's chin with forceful fingers, "Everyone heels for me, little bitch, and so will you."

Edward jerked away, nostrils flaring and fists clenched. What a fool he'd been to even listen to a man like Thompson, he thought. How desperate. Edward had a large dose of contempt for himself at that moment. It's only cure was to finally do what he knew had been the right thing all along."I refuse to deal with you and your scheme any longer. Threaten all you like, but I have my defenses, Lt. Colonel Thompson, don't forget that."

Edward shoved past the larger man and continued towards Mustang's office, a small part of him trembling, but most of him feeling more grounded and more sure of himself than he had since the entire thing had begun.

"Put these on!" Mustang tossed a pair of running pants and a shirt at Edward as he approached his office door. Mustang was already dressed in the same clothing.

"Sir?" Edward growled at as he caught the clothing. "I needed to speak with you."

"You can talk while we run," Mustang told him curtly.

"R-run?" Edward stammered, incredulous.

"Exercise is good for working off tension," Mustang explained. "Use my office to change."

Edward closed the door behind him and reluctantly began to change. He could hear Mustang tell his subordinates, "I wish absolute privacy. No one is to enter the north track."

"Yes, sir," someone replied and then Edward was coming out in his running pants and shirt, tugging at his pants where it had snagged on the metal of his leg. He scowled hotly at Mustang, suspecting some joke at his expense.

Mustang looked very serious, though, as he ordered, "This way Full Metal, I've noticed that you haven't been running the courses with the other men."

Other men? Edward caught the stress on that and wondered at it. Was Mustang acknowledging his maturity at last? He doubted it and frowned suspiciously as he followed Mustang out of HQand onto a wooded running track. Mustang began to run at once. Edward swore and ran to catch up. He often worked out with Al, but Mustang was right that he hadn't been doing any of the formal courses.

The forest was quiet. The rhythmic crunch of leaves and forest debris under their feet seemed loud. Mustang ran the course easily and Edward was annoyed when he began breathing hard first. Finally, he protested.

"I wanted to speak with you!" he panted. "Can we rest?"

"Almost there!" Mustang shouted back, and wouldn't elaborate as he took a rise of ground without slowing.

Almost where? Edward wondered. They weren't near the end of the course. He knew that it emptied out at the bottom of the hill and they were barely at the top. The forest grew thicker. If he stepped off the track, he could imagine himself getting lost in the thick undergrowth and large trunks. Even a few steps from the path and no one would be able to see him.

Mustang suddenly snagged him around the waist and did that very thing, pulled him off of the track and into a deep alcove of trees. Startled, Edward gave only a brief resistence until he saw the small over grown gazebo. It was bare bones, probably made for some commander to give a lecture to exercising troops.

Edward gratefully sank down onto a wooden seat, panting, as Mustang settled next to him. The man was breathing evenly and Edward thought that he could truly hate the man.

"A good place to talk?" Mustang asked. "Far from prying eyes?"

Edward nodded and then became tongue tied. He had been so sure of what he wanted to say. Faced with Mustang, though, and he began to doubt. What if he was wrong and everything was only in his imagination?

Mustang looked amused, his eyes twinkling and his lips curved in a small smile, and then he leaned forward and delicately kissed Edward on the lips. It was brief, tentative. When he leaned back again, his eyes searched Edward's.

"So...?" Mustang wondered.

Edward took in a shuddering breath, not realizing that he had stopped breathing. "I..." He was being asked permission. Mustang wasn't going to go a step further without it. This was it, acknowledge what was between them, acknowledge what was inside him, his desires, or deny it all and draw a line between them. He thought briefly of Al, and felt a flush of shame, but then he was leaning forward as if drawn against his will, and kissing Mustang... no... Roy, back with the same, light touch.

When Edward broke the kiss, he shyly met Roy's eyes and saw warmth there, but Roy's next words were very serious. "This is against all the rules. If we are discovered, there could be serious consequences. I have enemies. They are always watching, waiting like a pack of dogs to drag me down if I should make a mistake. I won't be able to save you if this happens. You'll go down with me."

Edward considered that, considered how he had been trying to help that very pack of dogs. He ducked his head in shame. Roy grabbed his chin and brought his head back up.

"It's all right," Roy said, misunderstanding, "to be angry, to be afraid, and to not want this. You can continue the run, if you like, and we'll talk about this later. I want you to be very sure."

Edward grimaced. "Later? When we are on the transport and going to Creta?"

"It is necessary that I go," Roy told him firmly. "I was given my orders to go and review the situation."

"Then you're not..." Edward felt his anger flounder without a target.

"No, I am not purposefully interfering with your journey, but it will make things easier for you if I do go with you," Roy told him and then looked irritated. "Edward, you must let go of your anger and your belief that everyone is working against you. Sometimes, a direct approach is not always best. You must learn patience and to trust the judgement of people who are older and wiser than you.."

"Again you treat me like a foolish child!" Edward exploded, fists clenched and eyes furious. "Waiting is not always the wise thing to do!"

"No?" Roy leaned very close. "Shall we not wait, then? Shall we rush forward against all common sense? Do you think that you are ready?"

Edward began to pant and it had nothing to do with the run. Roy's hands went to the waistband of his running pants. A simple tug down and... Edward swallowed hard. He wasn't a child. He wanted like a man. He would show Roy that he wasn't a coward, a girl, to simper over what should be wanted and accepted easily. He lifted his hips. Roy raised startled eyebrows and then his face hardened.

"Edward Elric," Roy said, "You are being-"

"If you're not ready..." Edward taunted, gold eyes glaring, daring the man.

Edward didn't know what he was asking for, wasn't sure what he should do or what Roy might do, but Edward wanted to prove himself. When Roy peeled down his pants and revealed his naked skin, it was obvious that Edward wasn't as ready as his words implied.

"Do you want to be a man?" Roy asked, but he didn't sound annoyed now. He sounded pushed past his limit of will power.

Edward was tense in every muscle. No! His mind said, but his lips were saying very softly. "Yes."

Roy bent over then and Edward felt the man on him; moist, hot, and tight.

Edward gasped and bent over Roy's back, grasping at him with metal and flesh hands. He must have hurt the man, but Roy didn't react except to begin a slow up and down motion. Edward gasped again and shuddered as his body eagerly reacted.

"Ungh!" Edward said when he had meant to say stop. Nothing would come out that was intelligible. His body didn't want to stop. It didn't know any shame.

A light rain began to fall and thunder rolled in the distance. The droplets made a drumming sound on the roof of the gazebo and a cool air, generated by the approaching storm, stroked over Edward's hot skin. He groaned and gripped at Roy even tighter, but the man was letting him go and straightening. Edward looked at him dazed. He had what he wanted. Roy had stopped... only.

"I- Is there more?" Edward managed to ask, aching, needing, and hated his shyness, his uncertainty. He didn't want to show this side of himself to Roy.

Roy's hands smoothed along Edward's hips and he replied. "Yes, if you're willing."

He was reluctant, Edward could see it. He wanted to stop as well, but they both knew that they had crossed that line and that there was no redrawing it again.

"More," Edward said simply and knew that it wasn't going to be simple at all.

Roy nodded and then Edward watched him pull down at his own running pants. He was hard, thick, and weeping . Hair dusted him below his naval, as dark as his hair, and he was very masculine in a way that excited Edward. He imagined himself returning Roy's favor and felt an eagerness that surprised him. Roy didn't ask for that, though. Instead, he took something from his pocket. Edward narrowed eyes and tried to read the small print.

"Lip balm," Roy explained apologetically, "But it will suffice if we are both careful."

Careful. That alerted Edward that there might be danger, or maybe pain. He shivered nervously, but his eyes didn't leave Roy's body. Something inside of him wanted this very badly, even though he wasn't sure what it was he really wanted.

Roy coated the fingers of one hand with the lip balm and then he pulled Edward forward until he was straddling his lap, yet propped up on his hands and almost laying down on the bench at the same time. Those coated fingers touched him.

No, he couldn't do this! Edward began to protest, began to pull away, but the touch of those cool fingers made him freeze. It felt... Roy began to tease him, massage him, and scratch ever so lightly. He delved inward to very sensitive nerves, nerves that welcomed the intrusion. There wasn't any pain, only an acute pleasure that had Edward squirming, gasping, and wanting more.

He opened to Roy's fingers and they worked their way deeply inside of him. It was strange, an intrusion, but his body, that Edward now considered as loose in it's morals as a city slut, was arching into those fingers and moving on them.

The thick fingers slid out suddenly and strong hands pulled Edward higher. The new, blunt intrusion, was harder to take. Edward squirmed in earnest now, trepidation almost undoing all of Roy's preparation, but Roy held him firmly and steadily continued.

Sheathed completely, Roy moved , folding Edward backwards and rolling him so that Roy was on top, buried deep into his tightness. Strong arms hooked under Edward's knees and hands braced on either side of him, as Roy began to thoroughly take him.

It was endurance, acceptance; a state of mind where Edward had to allow Roy to use him as a tight place to bury his pleasure, but there was pleasure for him as well, a stroking of sensitive nerves that had his senses reeling and his mind wanting Roy to go deeper, to move faster, to rub in and out of him and satisfy that need for more.

Edward exploded in orgasm, unable to endure it any longer. Choking and crying out, he had never experienced anything so intense. Roy was shouting and thrusting in hard then, not a moment later, and Edward felt a wetness escape out of him that was very warm as it trailed down between his thighs.

They lay together then, panting hard, as they rain began to fall in earnest, a solid sheet of white all around them.

Roy didn't ask if he was all right. He moved back at last and his hand trailed over Edward's sweating body. Edward shivered and sat up as well. He felt weak, empty, but not sorry, not as if he had done something he shouldn't. There was a satisfaction in him, instead. A scratch that had finally been itched. He ached, but it was a good ache and he found a smile.

Roy laughed, then, reached out, took hold of Edward's chin, and kissed him softly on the lips.

"You are..." Roy searched for the words as his eyes gazed warmly into Edward's. "... amazing." He scooted until he was propped in a corner and then he reached back and pulled Edward until he was laying against him. Draping their clothes over them both, they sat and watched the rain, both of them content.

see Kracken's original, published yaoi fiction, The Angel Within, at under Kracken Website:http/kracken. Latest updates at: http/groups. for general fanfiction talk: http/groups. 


	5. Marching

Kracken

Disclaimer: I don't own them and I don't make any money off of this.  
Warning:Male/male sex, graphic, language, violence.  
Full Metal Alchemist

Ring of Fire

Marching

The rain ceased and they jogged back. Roy was smiling softly, but Edward, following behind, was pensive and sore, wondering what had possessed him and why he had so forgotten himself. Roy had said something about youthful urges and laughed, but it seemed more than that to Edward. Watching the man ahead of him, he felt linked now, not as equals, he didn't think that they could ever be that, but as something akin to yin and yang. Roy was older and experienced. Edward was young and naive, though he bristled with affronted pride to admit that. He had to learn from Roy, if they were to carry on in their new found relationship, and he doubted that Roy would ever see him as anything more than a brash, young man who needed his direction.

Roy slowed as they came into view of the other soldiers and he began walking as they reached HQ. Edward kept a step behind him and found it an automatic thing. Again he felt a sting of temper and the need to recover some of his 'self'.

"That won't happen again," Edward growled, low and sure of himself.

"Did you hate it that much?" Roy replied softly and sounded amused.

Edward clarified, "I meant, out there, in the open, where anyone-"

"Ah," Roy replied and nodded. "Not many people are that daring."

"Your enemies could have seen us," Edward reminded him.

"Yes," Roy sighed, "But they are always out there, Edward, always ready to tear me down."

Edward thought over that, let his eyes touch on the men and women who were looking their way, trying to see the danger in their expressions. Roy's danger was his danger now. In that passionate, impulsive act back at the gazebo, he had tied himself to Roy's rising star... and to Roy's enemies who wanted him to fail in his ambitions.

"I'm used to defending myself," Roy told him and gave him a look that was confident and reassuring as they mounted the steps to his office. He stopped and turned to Edward. "Be ready," he said. "The one thing that you will learn about rats... is that they will always go for the bait. That's when you... exterminate them."

There was a ruthlessness in that last sentence, a heavy threat that gave Edward a chill.

"You can return to your room and clean up,"Roy told him. "It was good run."

Edward nodded and tried not to look embarrassed as he turned away and hurried back to his room. Al was anxiously waiting for him. It reminded Edward of his duty and his quest and that he should not have crossed that line with Roy.

"Brother?" Al asked in concern. "Where have you been? You look angry."

Edward sat on the bed and pulled off his wet and sweaty shirt. His clothing smelled like sex and he wondered if Al could smell it, or, for that matter, smell at all. He couldn't recall ever asking him. He had left his brother a boy and come back a man, and there was now a bigger gulf between them than flesh and metal.

"Mustang decided that I need to exercise more with the other soldiers," Edward explained carefully. "He made me jog a long course with him."

Al's armor clanked together as he moved closer. "Brother... I think..."

Edward frowned. "What?"

"I think it is all right to like Mustang," Al said timidly as if he feared that Edward would explode with anger at his words.

Edward turned a dark shade of red. There were so many things that he didn't feel good about thinking or discussing with his brother. They were all painful. His brother had lost his body and Edward blamed himself. How could he talk about things that had to do with growing older when Al couldn't share that with him? It would hurt Al, he was sure, and he would do almost anything to spare him that kind of pain.

Edward sighed as he crumpled his shirt in his hands, looking at the metal one and the flesh and blood one. Roy hadn't flinched from them, hadn't withdrawn from touching them, but Edward still hated them and still wanted them gone. How much worse was it for Al?

"Brother?" Al prompted, sounding very worried.

Edward sighed and stretched out on his bed. "Things are complicated," he replied at last.

Al bowed his head. "You are so lonely. I think, sometimes, that Mustang wants to help you."

Edward closed his eyes. "I think you're right, but... You're lonely too. Am I supposed to go and make friends while you sit here? What kind of brother would I be?"

Al sounded distressed as he replied, "I have friends, brother."

Edward opened his eyes and blinked at him in surprise. "Friends?"

"Yes," Al insisted and now he sounded concerned. "You are always so busy, training and researching the philosopher's stone... Do you mind?"

Edward blinked again, trying to imagine Al with friends, sitting, talking... It drove home to him how much he had distanced himself from Al, wrapped up in his own concerns. "No," he replied. "It doesn't bother me. I'm sorry if I have been neglecting you."

Al shook his head. "Not neglecting," he protested. "You have many duties."

"Still... I'm sorry," Edward insisted.

There was a heavy knock on the door. Al And Edward both started. Edward sat up, exchanged a look with Al, and then went to answer the door. A soldier was standing at attention outside. He gave a proper, stiff salute.

"For your signature, sir." The man handed Edward an official paper.

Edward took it and walked back into the room as the man waited outside. He held it by the light and read it.

Al asked in concern, "Brother, what does it say?"

Edward rolled up the paper and crushed it in one hand. "It's nothing. They want me to attend a demonstration. I won't be long."

If he suspected a lie, Al was silent, but in that silence, Edward supplied his own guilt and accusation. He went with the man and he was taken to a large office. There were several officers seated there, looking very grave. Mustang and Lt. Colonel Thompson were there as well, Thompson looking triumphant and Mustang looking quiet and unmoved by the anger and outrage all around him.

Edward wasn't offered a chair and he didn't take one. He stood almost at attention in front of the officers, pale and very certain why he was there. Al was going to find out his transgression in the worst way. He wondered who would explain to him why his brother was in jail.

"Full Metal," one of the men, with a large mustache, rumbled, as if he wished to be anywhere but there. "It has been charged that you and Colonel Mustang have broken a regulation that carries a severe penalty. What have you to say?"

Edward looked at Mustang, but the man was looking calm and focused on Thompson. He wasn't afraid, Edward thought, instead, he looked as if he held the upper hand.

"What am I being accused of?" Edward asked stiffly. Somehow, he knew that was the right course to take and Mustang's quick smile at him told him that he was correct.

The officer was uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and replied, as he placed a photo on the table in front of him, "You have been accused of sexual deviation; having relations with Mustang. One of Lt. Colonel's men took photos..."

Edward felt ready to die, then and there. Photos? He cringed inwardly, everything within him screaming not to look, but he had to. He had to see what they had seen. He took two steps forward, sweat running down his brow, and looked down at the photo... and then felt a cold shock. The blonde in the photo with Mustang wasn't him..

"Sir, that is not me in that photo," Edward said in a choked voice and then glared at Mustang. Mustang was looking embarrassed, but there was a small smile playing over his lips.

"Of course it is!" Thompson retorted and moved to look at the photo himself. He glared and then turned to a man behind him, who was looking frightened. "You told me that Full Metal was with Colonel Mustang!"

The man flinched, but stayed at attention as he stammered, "Sir, I was ordered to take a photo of whom ever the Colonel was intimate with. I didn't know that I was to wait for a specific person."

Thompson turned red. The officer pulled the photo back to himself, looked at it in a disgusted manner, and then glared at Mustang. "You are ordered to tell this court who is in this photo."

Mustang smiled widely and shrugged. "I wish you had told me there was a photo. I could have cleared my name sooner. That is Officer Shamiz. Since she is not a subordinate of mine, we were not breaking any regulations." He looked at Thompson as he pointed to the man's underling. "How ever, I believe that this soldier has clearly revealed a plot to discredit me. That is a severe breach of codes of conduct regulations."

The Officer looked at his comrades and then he made an angry sound and said, "Colonel Mustang, Full Metal, you are dismissed with our apologies. Lt. Colonel Thompson. You will remain."

Mustang rose, gave a salute to the officers, and went with Edward out of the room. Edward was seething, but Mustang was smiling as he clapped him on the shoulder."Shamiz helped me with the deception," Mustang told him. "We were not really intimate."

"You planned that!" Edward exclaimed with wide eyes.

"I set out the bait for the rat and he took it," Mustang told him, pleased, but then he grew serious and added, "but there are more rats to take his place. If you wish to continue with me, you will share my danger."

Edward sighed and replied, "I am not a child any longer. You saw to that. Being a man means facing dangers and doing what must be done. I can't be frightened. I can't go back and pretend we were not... together. I can only go forward and do as I've always done, make the most out of what life has given me, good or bad."

Mustang caressed Edward's metal arm and Edward shivered even though he couldn't feel it. "You accept things so easily?" Mustang asked. "I don't think that you do."

"It's for Al that I refuse to accept this," Edward replied, clenching that metal hand, "But there are some things that I will accept for my own sake... I accept you."

Mustang suddenly reached up and ruffled Edward's gold hair as if he were a child and Edward scowled. "Remember to hate me, Edward Elric," Mustang chuckled as he began to walk away, "in public at least."

"In public," Edward whispered as he watched Mustang's back move away from him, "In private, things will be much different now."

THE END

see Kracken's original, published yaoi fiction, The Angel Within, at under Kracken Website:http/kracken. Latest updates at: http/groups. for general fanfiction talk: http/groups. 


End file.
